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Rob Ford: Jailhouse beating came because man was a ‘bother’ to mayor: DiManno

These were the injuries suffered in the savage jailhouse beating of an inmate who had threatened Rob Ford — punishment inflicted by unidentified assailants because he was a “bother” to the mayor.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's sister Kathy (left) and mother Diane Ford talk with Stephen LeDrew (not pictured) on CP24. Kathy's former commonlaw spouse was beaten in prison because he was a "bother" to the mayor, a judge said. (Courtesy of CP24)

Jailhouse justice, as described by the judge at the sentencing hearing of Scott MacIntyre, long-time drug addict and former common-law spouse of the mayor’s sister, Kathy.

“It is accepted by counsel that the beating was in the nature of so-called ‘jailhouse justice’,” said Justice Paul French at the June, 2012, sentencing after MacIntyre pleaded guilty to uttering death threats, possession and attempting to break a court order that prohibited him from communicating with Rob and Kathy Ford.

MacIntyre broke into Rob Ford’s home on Jan. 11, 2012 and later threatened to kill the mayor, according to court transcripts. He was sentenced to 10 months for his crimes. Although an investigation of the attack MacIntyre absorbed was conducted, nobody has ever been charged.

“I infer that the (beating) was visited upon Mr. MacIntyre because of his being a bother to Mr. Ford,” French told court.

There is no suggestion that the mayor had any knowledge of the pounding or had at any time expressed a wish that “jailhouse justice” be meted. Indeed, both Fords later asked that a non-custodial sentence be imposed on MacIntyre in their victim impact statements.

But the incident provides further insight into some of the dynamics surrounding a mayor who is known to consort with felons and drug traffickers, both directly and coincidentally, on the margins of a troubled family. Sources have told the Star that Ford and members of his family have had more than two dozen call-out interactions with police over the past decade.

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MacIntyre, a convicted drug dealer who has racked up a slew of offenses dating back 28 years, was the off-and-on boyfriend of the mayor’s sister, who described herself in a TV interview on Thursday as a “former drug addict.”

Eight years ago, MacIntyre was accused of shooting Kathy in the face during an altercation in the basement of her parents’ home and then fleeing in her mother’s Jaguar. Numerous charges against MacIntyre were subsequently dropped, though a co-accused pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a handgun.

On the January morning nearly two years ago, MacIntyre entered Ford’s Etobicoke home uninvited — the front door was open — and began yelling at the mayor: “You owe me money and your sister owes me money,” he shouted, according to court documents obtained last week by the Star. “If I don’t get it they will kill me.”

Ford repeatedly ordered MacIntyre to leave as the argument grew more heated and “almost came to physical violence,” the transcript states.

Before going, MacIntyre vowed: “You and your family are going to get it, you are going to pay for it.”

Police were summoned and had several conversations with MacIntyre on his cellphone over the next three hours. “During one of these calls, Mr. MacIntyre told (a police constable) that he was going to shoot Rob Ford and cut his head off with a machete,” the sentencing hearing transcript states.

The man’s vehicle was eventually located outside a hotel in Mississauga and MacIntyre was taken into custody with the assistance of the Emergency Task Force. In his hotel room police found small quantities of heroin and cocaine.

At his bail hearing, MacIntyre was ordered not to have any contact with Ford or any of his immediate family members. But while at the Metro West Detention Centre, security staff checking outgoing mail found a letter written by MacIntyre, addressed to Kathy Ford.

In part, MacIntyre had written: “You and your family have one chance to leave me the f--k alone and stop this s--t! Or I am going to start a firestorm.” The letter went on to say: “You and your family think I should play nice! F--k you.”

In a second letter — the Crown believed it was addressed to the Star — MacIntyre asked to meet with a reporter for information that he could divulge to the paper.

Two months later, on March 12, MacIntyre was severely beaten in jail by fellow inmates. They fractured the tibia in his right leg and he lost many teeth.

Prosecutors accepted that MacIntyre was in “a cloud of heroin and cocaine abuse” when he went to Ford’s home and that his intention was to see Kathy, not the mayor. He had no gun.

However, MacIntyre has weapons offences in his legal jacket. French referenced the lengthy criminal record at sentencing. “First, it reflects his long-standing drug addiction. . . . Second, several of the convictions in Mr. MacIntyre’s record are for serious offenses; notably, these include conspiracy to traffic in narcotics for which he received a lengthy penitentiary sentence and there are several weapons offenses. Third, Mr. MacIntyre’s record reflects an inability to obey the orders of the court,” with seven previous convictions for failure to appear and failure to comply with release and probation terms.

In his victim impact statement, Rob Ford said he had no safety concerns because of MacIntyre but wanted the defendant to stay away from him and his immediate family, specifically his children. Kathy Ford stated she would like to have contact with MacIntyre “for purposes of assisting in his rehabilitation, if needed.” She did not want him to go to jail but did want him to get alcohol and drug counseling. French decided Kathy’s wish to maintain some form of contact was “counterproductive” and “contra-indicated” and in the best interest of neither.

Addressing MacIntyre, French said: “All of this has been a complete and total schmozzle. I sincerely hope...when I see you in a year, you’re going to be a polished apple. I hope that you will have done things to turn your life around because there has to be a better life for you than this nonsense.”

For his part, MacIntyre told the judge: “I just want to say that when this all occurred and I went to Rob’s house and there was a heated argument, I up and left. It was never my intention to hurt anybody, harm anybody. Had that been my intention I would have done that when I was there. That’s not what I set out to do.

“I just lost my temper. And it was a very stupid thing for me to do. . .

“As for the letter I sent, that’s just plain stupidity. And basically the crux of that is just I was of the opinion that Rob was charging me for threatening him when in fact that hadn’t happened. I was going on misinformation and all I wanted to do was have people tell the truth.”

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